Apparatus for production of oxides



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 29, 1933. E. M. LoFLAND APPARATUS FOR PRODUTION OFOXIDES Filed-June 7,' 1928 @mflbl 20E bQOm,

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APPARATUS FOR PRODUCTION 0F OXIDES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 E. M. Lol-'LANDAPPARATUS FOR PRODUCTION'OF OXIDES Filed June 7, 1928 Aug. 29, 1933.

Patented Aug. 29,` 1933 APPARATUS ron PRODUCTION 0F oXYIDEs' Emil M.Lolland, chicago, 111. Application June 7, 192.8.k Serial No. 283,607 2claims.. `(C1. l23-285) This invention relates to metallurgicalapparatus such asis adapted forv use in processes like that described inmy U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,689,951, granted October 30,1928. Incertain particulars theV present invention is an improvement upon theapparatus disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No;273,838, filed April 30, 1928.

A general object o f the present invention is the provision of anapparatus whereby oxides and hydrates may be rapidly produced andrecovered Vfrom metals under controlled conditions.

A particular object is the provision of such apparatus whereby the.oxide or hydrate may be recovered from the metal in only partlyoxidized condition, as- 'for feXample the recovery ofk a hydrous ferrousoxide from iron before it has n .been converted .to a ferric condition.

Yet another object is the provision of an apparatus which may bedenitely controlled in operation, which is of strong andsimple con--struction and which is productive of Va large output.

Other-,and further objects will be pointed out or indicated'hereinafteror will be apparent to one skilled inthe art upon an understanding ofthe invention or-its employment in practice. Y Forfthe purpose of aidingin the disclosure of the invention I illustrate in the accompanyingdrawings forminga part of this specification, one form of apparatusembodying the seme, but it is to` be understood that the invention isnot limited to this particular construction or arrangement.

Inthe drawings,

VFg. .l lis a diagram showing in transverse sectional elevation, anapparatus embodying the principles of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, on a larger scale, of a portion of one ofthe agitators involved in the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse, vertical section on line 6-6 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, with certain portionsthereof broken away for convenience of illustration;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line 8 8 in Fig. 4, with certainportions thereof broken away for convenience of illustration; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section on line 9 9 in Fig. 5, showingcertain portions broken away for convenience of illustration.

An understanding of the invention may be had quite quickly by referenceto the embodiment illustrated in the drawings.

As thus illustrated, the apparatus shown 1n said-hopper.

`is provided with valved discharge outlets 17 for may be taken from a4lsuitable source of supply Fig. 1 comprises an agitating and reactionbasin 1- adapted to contain a bed of iron borings sup- TEs PATENTOFFICE# ported on its sloping bottom. Tracks 2 andarek provided atopposite sides of this` basin, upon which the wheels 4' of the carriage5 are adapted to run and permit the carriage to travel back and forth.This carriage carries `a rotary agitator shaft 5 having the agitatingarms 6 for plowing up and disturbing and agitating the iron -boringsheld in lthe basin. The frame of the carriage carries an electricmotor7, which is connected by gearing 8, 9, 10, 1l and 12 with the agitatorshaft 5 previously` mentioned, thereby-toy rotate this shaft. A hopper13 is provided on-the carriage v, Y

for a supply of the iron borings,kand a screw l. lconveyor 14v isprovided in a tubular housing 15,'

which is connected by the passage 16 with the. The lower side of the`housing l5 discharging they-iron borings downwardly upon the agitatorsvand into the basin. vAn electric motor 18 may be provided and geared toAone or vmore of the Wheels 4, and controlled in any suitable, mannertov propel the carriage Yback and forth acrossthe agitating and reactionbasin. Any suitable connection can be provided between one of the motorsand the screw conveyor 14, to

drive the latter in the desired manner. VA solution of any acid or acidsalt (ferrous sulphate) through a pipe20 into the intake of the pump 21and dischargedfrom'the latter throughWthe-pipe 22 into the sprayingpipesor distributors .123,

`which latter are disposed iny position and have orifices 24 on theirlower sides to discharge the `solution downwardly upon the'agitators andthe iron borings in the manner illustrated inFig.- 6 of the drawings.The said pump 21 and pipesv leading thereto and therefrom are suitablymounted upon the carriage 5 and travel therewith. 95.

The source from which the liquid is drawn by the pump 21 may be in theform of a trough 19 extending alongside the basin so that the pipe 2Omay travel inthe same as lthe carriage moves along. In thisway, and inwhatever position the carriage may occupy over the agitating andreaction basin, the pipe 20 will always be in position to draw solutionlfrom .the open trough 19. v

Pipes 26 andV 27 form conduits for connecting the collecting troughs 28and 29 with the. hydrate l sump 30, which latter is of any suitablecharacter. Thus the ferrous hydrate formed on and removed from the ironborings and flushed out by the liquid will be discharged into the saidsump 30 after it, has beenv flushed from the agitating and reactionbasin 1 and into the launder troughs 28 and 29.

From the said sump 30 the hydrate and the carrying liquid may be pumpedto a thickener in which the greater portion of the liquid may beseparated from the hydrate and returned by way of 39 to the trough 19,so that any excess of the solution may be returned from the thickenerfor re-use in the agitating and reactionrbasiri.

The hydrate, as explained in my patent above identified, is produced onthe borings by subjecting the iron borings, or other metal, or metal insimilar or other form, when properly wetted with a solution of asuitable acid or acid salt (ferrous sulphate) to the action of oxygen(as in air) for a definite period of time in the agitating and reactionbasin. The bluish-green ferrous hydrate is formed as a coating on eachparticle, large or small, of the iron borings, and is separatedtherefrom by the periodical agitating and flushing operations performedby the agitators and distributor incident to travel of thecarriagebackand forth across the agitating and reaction basin. Then, aspreviously explained, the ferrous hydrate separated from the borings iscarried by the overow of the washing solution to a recovery system bythe operation of which the ferrous hydrate is reclaimed as a sludge, asin the said thickener, and the excess solution may be then returned andagain used for wetting and flushing the bed. The iron borings, aftereach agitating and flushing operation, are no longer coated with ferroushydrate, butare covered with a thin lm of acid solution. The ironborings when in this condition are again subjected to theaction ofoxygen for the required period of time, during which additional hydrateis formed on them, which is likewise separated and similarly recovered.In thisY way the production of the ferrous hydrate is made continuous,these Washing and agitating steps being so controlled that ferroushydrate is being continuously separated and recovered from borings in aportion of the bed, while those in the other portions are beingsubjected to chemical reaction in a quiet condition. The continuity ofproduction of the ferrous hydrate is also maintained by replenishing thebed with fresh borings from time to time by means of the conveyor 14. v

As shown in Figs. 1 and 5 of the drawings, it will be seen that thebottom of basin 1 slopes to the left, so that the solution in the basinwill flow by gravity into the launder troughs 28 and 29. The jets fromthe pipes v23 impinge on the borings adjacent the agitator, and therotation of the agitator will tend to form a trench in the bed, and thesolutionwill tend to-follow this trench and discharge into the troughs28 and 29, as explained. It will be 'seen that the walls at each side ofthe trough 29 are notched to pro- Vide spaced openings 60, as shown inFig. 4 of the drawings, and the inside wall of the trough 28 is alsosimilarly notched or cut away at intervals to provide the openings 61,these openings being preferably provided with screen material of somekind to keep the iron borings from falling out, but permitting thehydrate to ow into the troughs 28 and 29 in the manner described. Byusing an agitating and reaction basin of this form, in combination withan agitator that is mounted to travel back and forth above the basin, itis obvious that the basin can be enlarged from time to time by adding onto either end thereof, as the crane supporting the agitators can travelany desired distance, and can operate over a long basin as well as overa short basin. Y

As shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, inclined pipes forming nozzles canbe attached to the tubes 23, to receive the solution from the openings24, if such is necessary or desirable. The pipes for this purpose areindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

I claim: Y

1. Apparatus for controlling production of oxides comprising, incombination, a basin arranged to support a bed of fragmentary material,said basin having a bottom sloping toward one side, a carriage mountedto travel back and forth over the basin in directions Yparallel withsaid side, a trough along said side of the basin for reception ofmaterial flushed therefrom, an agitator operably mounted on the carriagefor rotation on an axis extending substantially at right angles to saidside of the basin, means for propelling the carriage and actuating theagitator, and means for flushing the bed.

2. Apparatus forV the production ofV hydrousV

